SAP Q4 Operating Profit More Than Triples - Update

1/13/2012 10:27 AM ET

German business software giant SAP AG (SAP) on Friday reported that its operating profit for the fourth quarter more than tripled from last year, reflecting strong growth in its core applications business and higher demand for analytics as well as mobile solutions. The company also reported operating profit and revenue for fiscal year 2011 that exceeded its own expectations.

On the basis of International Financial Reporting Standards or IFRS, SAP's operating profit for the fourth quarter more than tripled to 1.67 billion euros or $2.12 billion, from 540 million euros in the same period last year.

Non-IFRS operating profit for the quarter was 1.78 billion euros, up 10 percent from 1.62 billion euros in the year-ago period.

Total revenue for the quarter grew 11 percent to 4.50 billion euros from 4.06 billion euros in the prior-year period, while operating profit surged to 1.67 billion euros from 540 million euros last year.

Bill McDermott and Jim Hagemann Snabe, co-CEOs of SAP said, "In an uncertain environment, SAP delivered the best year in its 40 year history. We gained significant market share and achieved double-digit growth across all regions."

SAP said its performance was driven by outstanding growth in its core applications business, strong momentum for analytics and mobile solutions, and accelerated growth for the company's HANA real-time analytics technology. The company noted that with double-digit growth, it gained significant market share.

Total revenue for the year increased 14 percent to 14.23 billion euros from 12.46 billion euros last year, while software revenue grew 22 percent from the prior year to 3.97 billion euros.

Software and software-related service revenue for the year rose 16 percent on an IFRS basis to 11.32 billion euros. Adjusted software and software-related revenue increased 17 percent at constant currencies to 11.35 billion euros, exceeding the company's forecast for a 10 to 14 percent increase.

SAP's adjusted operating margin for the year increased 1.1 percentage point at constant currencies to 33 percent, coming in at the high end of the company's forecast range for an increase of 0.5 to 1.0 percentage points.

SAP said it generated more than 160 million euros in software revenue and more than 100 million euros in software revenue from mobile solutions in the year.

SAP will provide further details of its fourth quarter and full-year 2011 results as well as its outlook for the fiscal year 2012 on January 25.

On the NYSE, SAP is currently trading at $54.67, up $1.42 or 2.67 percent on a volume of 2.68 million shares.